WATCH: Local man charged with felony injury of a child after video apparently shows him smacking one
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IDAHO FALLS — A disturbance at a wedding reception has resulted in the arrest of a 45-year-old man who is accused of hitting a child after taking a knife away from them.
Michael David Buchholz, of Idaho Falls, is facing one felony count of injury to a child, which carries the potential punishment of up to 10 years in prison.
No attorney is listed for Buchholz, according to Idaho’s Crime Repository. However, Buchholz contacted EastIdahoNews.com, saying he has hired a private attorney and is reaching out to see whether the attorney can comment on the allegations. We will update this story if Buchholz provides a comment.
EastIdahoNews.com was provided with and verified a copy of the video described in the court documents.
According to court documents, police officers were sent to a home in Idaho Falls on Monday after a call was made by a woman claiming her young son had been hit. The woman told police the incident occurred on Aug. 23, about 8 p.m. at her home, where a celebration was ongoing after a wedding earlier that day
A small fire was started, and the woman told police she sent her son — the alleged victim in this case — to fetch a pair of scissors or a knife to cut the plastic off the bundle of wood. The document states the woman told officers that her son has autism.
After getting a knife, video recorded by a security camera shows the boy walking on the porch to the stairs, where two men are seen walking up to them.
One man is seen high-fiving and praising the boy, while the second man, identified by the woman as Buchholz, is telling the victim, “I got no f****** problem with you.”
“Call me queer, and I’m going to slap you. You hear me? Don’t disrespect people unless you’re ready to get slapped,” Buchholz continues. “You ain’t gonna call the shots, bro. I call the shots.”
The video depicts Buchholz preventing the boy from climbing down the stairs and points at him during the interaction.
Later in the video, the woman calls out to the boy, and the other man tells the boy to go to her, but the 45-year-old prevents him from leaving.
Despite the boy telling Buchholz that his mother is calling him, the man is heard saying, “I don’t give a f***.”
The video shows the boy lifting the knife to the man, and Buchholz takes it away from him. In the video, Buchholz is heard telling the boy, “F****** pull a f****** knife on me?”
After taking the knife and transferring it to another hand, Buchholz is seen slapping the child in the face, causing his head to strike the railing behind him, which makes an audible sound.
Court documents say that Buchholz tells the victim, “I will f*** you up. You hear me?” F****** pull a knife on me again.”
Letting the child leave, the boy is heard swearing at Buchholz for hitting him as he runs off to his mother, crying.
The woman did not tell officers if there were any outward injuries to her son, but due to the video showing the boy’s reaction to being hit, the officers believe he was in pain and physically hurt.
“The video does not show circumstances that would justify the amount of force Michael used against the child,” the court documents state.
Speaking with Buchholz, he told officers that the boy had called him a derogatory word and that the boy had always “been running his mouth.”
Regarding the knife, Buchholz said that the boy had pulled it out on him and, in the motion to get the knife, the child was accidentally struck.
The officers reported that, after watching the video, they found Buchholz’s explanation was not true and told the man so.
Buchholz was then arrested and taken to the Bonneville County Jail. His bail was set at $40,000, and he was later released.
EastIdahoNews.com also received a call from the father of the boy, who said that he had confronted Buchholz about the situation and was told by Buchholz that the child was accidentally struck. Later, after watching the video, he learned that Buchholz’s statement was untrue.
The court documents also state other instances involving Buchholz and a firearm, but officers were unable to find any evidence that these allegations had occurred.
Buchholz is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing before Magistrate Judge Michael Kirkham on Sept. 29 at 1 p.m.
Although Buchholz has been accused of a crime, that does not necessarily mean he committed it. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty